MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR: The Freedom to Doubt

I just returned from a second meeting today with the U.S. Department of State’s Office of International Religious Freedom (IRF) in Washington DC, joined by my colleagues at the Center for Inquiry, International Humanist and Ethical Union, Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science, and the Secular Coalition for America. We had the pleasure of meeting with Ambassador-at-Large Suzan Johnson Cook, and we’re pleased that the office regularly promotes the idea that religious freedom includes the freedom not to believe. Our organizations presented a report on atheist discrimination abroad (highlighting the case of Alexander Aan in Indonesia, who was jailed for professing his atheism on his Facebook page), which we hope to make available to you in the coming weeks. We hope to see see some of these cases highlighted in the IRF’s Annual Report next year. I encourage you to read about theexcellent work of the IRF and follow Ambassador Johnson Cook on Facebook and Twitter.

Thanks to your support, the humanist voice is being heard! We are thrilled to be working with the Ambassador and IRF on supporting religious freedom for all, and we look forward to updating you with our progress. If you’re not yet a member of the American Humanist Association, join now and support our important work.

Maggie Ardiente
Editor, HNN